Storage arrays typically have a central storage array processor, and inbound data, requests and other communication are all handled by the central processor. For greater parallelism and data handling capability, storage clusters have storage nodes that distribute processing and data handling across storage nodes of the storage cluster. Storage clusters may even use load-balancing to distribute inbound communication evenly, for example in a pseudorandom manner, among the storage nodes. A problem arises in storage cluster technology, because a storage node that sends out a request for address resolution might find, due to load-balancing, that the reply is sent to another storage node, thus delaying or preventing the originating storage node from getting the needed information. This problem extends to networked devices having a central processor for a distributed architecture. It is within this context that the embodiments arise.